Last Week in Space and Mechs: 6/25/18

This past week, there was a distinct quality gap. Either a show had a great episode that I couldn’t imagine being better than they already are or they are not using any of the material presented to their fullest potential at all. I guess it’s not possible to live in a universe where everything is good. Balance needs to be had.

Space Battleship Tiramisu Episode 12

Yeah, this show is still having pointless episodes in it’s back half. I realize that part of the reason why I keep disliking these episodes recently is that the show has set up a narrative half way through it’s run that it doesn’t feel interested in resolving or using in anyway. The reveal of the protagonist having a brother who is his antagonist adds some more narrative rules to this show then it was originally going for. Tiramisu has no interest in resolving this conflict in anyway, shape, or form despite the fact that some of it’s content is interested in it. The first half of this episode was a flash back showing Subaru and Izusu during their childhood, so we see the origin of the Durandal. Kind of pointless at this moment, don’t you think? I did find the second half, a parody of super robot anime vs Subaru’s prissy nature interesting, but it’s still filler material. I think this show needed twice it’s length of episodes or something to feel complete. At least the last episode is next week.

Gundam Build Divers Episode 12

I am finding this show more and more annoying as times goes on. First of all, I realize that this show completely captured the internet by having the villain be an anonymous person that wants other people to stop having fun. Still, that’s all the material we get with him. It’s not enough to make for a good villain. Also, I really hate Riku. He just gained a capability to fix the servers through his own perseverance. I realize that this is anime and the sudden powers he gained are canon in some parts of the Gundam franchise along with the laser canon finale, but a game world is held by rules and programming. Forcing things to be solved through force of will in a way that breaks the rules of an established server world is dumb. This is one of the reasons why I hated the first arc of Sword Art Online and refused to watch anymore. Could we just not back the protagonist into a corner and have them solve a problem through Deus Ex Machina? I think I will drop this one too if the next episode doesn’t entertain me enough. I know I give things chances because that’s who I am, but there are points where things start weighing on my nerves. This is the last bit of good will I am giving this Build Divers. Nah, who am I kidding? I’m probably going to watch this show all the way through and continue to complain about it as I watch it. I can be petty sometimes.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes (2018) Episode 11

The conflict between the empire and the F.P.A. is really getting intense guys. Especially the Free Planets Alliance having a military leader that pushes put tot do what he wants, though he can’t handle the load himself, and the head of the military going with “just do what he says”. You see, since their invasion, the F.P.A. is losing their will to fight because they having to deal with the Empire’s scorched earth tactics. Reinhard, you are really a hard ass here and I appreciate that. Yang was declaring that his forces should retreat and he spread that logic amongst the other admiral who agree with him. A lot of things going on right now. The F.P.A. forces are pulling out regardless of how command feels, but the Empire is sending its fleets to attack. I know how this ends, but I am pretty excited to how this series handles it because this show has a lot of thought put behind it. It’s not just a reboot. Dang it, next week is the last episode. Curses. I want more then one space opera to watch, damn it. I want it all right now. Screw those movies, give me all of this new Legend of the Galactic Heroes goodness right now.

Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Episode 7

With Gatlanteans entering the fray near the 11th planet with one of the biggest fleets I’ve seen in anime besides maybe scenes in SDF Macross, this episode was terrifying and emotional in so many ways. First of all, I should have noticed this sooner, but this show is dedicated to making Kodai as sad as possible. It’s not forced or unnatural in anyway, but he’s making some hard decisions that result in driving people away from him. He didn’t want to use the Wave Motion Canon in this episode because of a promise Okita made in 2199. The problem here is that the Yamato had to use it and Kodai didn’t want to. Even if he did use it in a way that saved Earth and didn’t kill anyone, he is still putting emotional weight on himself. I am not sure how I feel about this direction right now, but it’s an effective one that works with how the show has presented him. I’m sure he’ll get over it in time. Right now, it’s not hurting the show for me at all. It is a very antiwar series after all…

Also, can we talk about that fleet that I mentioned? The Gatlaneans don’t seem to have the wave motion canon ability, so they align their ships together in a unique fashion that creates a make shift one. That’s something I haven’t seen in many science fiction shows before, so that is completely interesting to me. Their interactions with not understanding Kodai letting this disabled fleet go was interesting because I wonder where they got that perception of everything needs to die for peace to be had. Reminds me a little about the Klingons from Star trek Discovery. Kodai being kind is going to backfire, isn’t it? I like it a lot because this is some good drama. I also like how our Gamilas representative on the Yamato is helping too. He seems like a good guy, even if he is a little shady for my tastes. The Yamato’s journey is going to be an emotional one and I look forward to seeing it all. This show better be very long.

Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory Episode 9

After having an arc centered solely on Sousuke, we get the return of Captain Tessa and the rest of the Danaan crew. Considering that we have spent six weeks away from watching any of them, the show played with our expectations a little bit. I knew that something was up, but seeing a barefoot, trauma driven Tessa walking the streets of some city is a sight to behold. Seeing her given to a psychiatrist, tell her true story to that lady, then being committed somewhere else is something that I’ve seen many times before in fiction. I had a feeling that something was up, because the crew of that submarine is extremely dedicated to each other. I’m glad that I was right and it was a rouse to capture a bad guy. That poor psychiatrist though. Being a civilian caught in the middle of a large gun fight isn’t fun. Also, seeing Tessa cuss some one out is one of the best things to happen in anime. There is just so much good here. Including seeing Chidori having a sense of rebellion against her capture and Sousuke waking up after being shot. I know that I’ve spread my love for this show already, but apart from recap episodes, this season has been flawless so far.

There is nothing to do here but wait until next week to see how everything turns out. See you all next Monday!